Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Helpers

They are: Mujeres en Cambio: the group that started us, money for the store and more, Bonifacia Tovar: organizer or the group, Judy Christoffersen: fund raising and general "do-it-all", Becky Rhode: fund raising and sewing machines plus lessons, Gene Shepherd: on line instruction, lessons and invitation to show at ATHA, Jinny Roddewig: best rug hook camp sales person, Hipolito: remodeling of the store, Isabel Carzares: book keeping, Florentino: iron work on the store, Kate Keily: our main source of wool donations, Gaby Negrete: Secretary, Shirley and Jim Schwantz: wool haulers and sales twice a year at the Clutter shows, Rebecca Brooks: raffel and brainstormer for fund raising, Laura Ramirez: secretary and my email connection when in the states, Barbara Hanson: creator of shows in the US and SMA, Jessica Hanson: English teacher, Susan White: brought first rugs to the USA: Wolf Sittler: my husband, you name it, he does it, Charlotte Bell: whatever needs to be done next. 

I would like to ask all you rug hookers, or any one else for that matter, to please consider sponsoring a show of rugs at your next event. We lost one major show this spring and we really depend on hooking camps for our sales. It's fun and easy. Just email me for details. 512 447 2150.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Las Rancheritas sell rugs at the San Miguel Writers Conference.

San Miguel has hosted a amazing event for the last 8 years. The San Miguel Writers Conference.
http://youtu.be/bYHFqH3vPS8

Thursday, February 7, 2013

A heart warming story

The store opening had lots of extra expenses as you can imagine. During the thick of it 2 weeks ago I got a call from the "Goose Creek Ruggers" in Leesburg VA. They raffled off a rug and raised $235!! The timing could not have been better.

I hope this will be an inspriation to all you rug hookers or anyone for that matter. Buy a rug and raffle it off. Maybe at a party or other event. 

The store is lovely and open for business but we still need things, tables, chairs, and we would like to extend the patio. There will always be expenses and the Las Rancheritas are now taking 5% from every sale and putting this into a savings account for future expenses. So they are doing their part too. But the resources and opportunities in the US and Canada are much greater then in MX. Plus raffles are fun. 

Hats off to the Goose Creek Ruggers. A great name for some generous hookers. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

The Fabulous Food

Victoria from Mujeres en Cambio took photos of the food. Check out her blog and prepare for a real treat.
http://flavorsofthesun.blogspot.mx/
Only in Mexico. 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Short Video

This short video will give you a flavor of the opening and the ambiance of the area. I encourage anyone visiting SMA to take the trip out to the store to support the women. Transportation can be arranged. http://youtu.be/YbvD0j0jifg

Friday, January 25, 2013

The opening of the Las Rancheritas store a great success!!

Yesterday Jan. 24th we celebrated the opening of Las Rancheritas store. So much has gone into the last details, making and installing the road sign, decorating the building, installing sun shades, painting the bathrooms, and general fluffing and puffing. We have over 50 people who bought tickets for the Mujeres en Cambio birthday luncheon. Mujeres is the group that started the prefect 15 years ago. They raise funds to give scholarships for girls living in  rural communities. http://mujeresencambio.org/  The Rug Hook Project is the other arm of their work to improve the lives of women. They were the major contributor to the funds to remodel the store. 
The food made by Las Rancheritas was amazing. The list of all the home made food will make your mouth water: tamales, potatoes patties, two types of chili rellenos, nopal salad, pork in chili sauce, chicken in chili sauce, big salads, beans, decorated tortillas, five kinds of salsas to name just a few of the delicacies. The people attending were delighted with the food and the location. And Mujeres plans is to do this again next year!!

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Of course the big event was the raffle. This was created by Rebecca Brooks as a fund raiser to remodel the building. Over $700 was raised with $10 tickets. The winner of the silver heart was Sarah Gaetner of Austin, TX. The winner of the rug was Ray Andersen of Minneapolis MN. Congratulations to you both.
However the biggest winners were Las Rancheritas. They sold 15 rugs and now have a store ready for business. Tomorrow is opening day. There is more to learn but the seed is planted. 

I have included a few photos from the event but more are to come including some videos.
Thanks so all of you who have contributed to making this a smashing success. 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Grand opening for Las Rancheritas Store and Restaruant

I am pleased to announce the grand opening of the store: January 24, 2013. Lots of hard work by the villagers and money donated by many of you have made this dream a reality.
Those of you in San Miguel can see the store and enjoy an excellent homemade "Rancho" meal. The event will be held from 2 - 4 PM. Transportation will be arranged for those of you without cars. 

half_page_add.pdf Download this file

We will also have the drawing for the silver heart and rugs at the luncheon. There is still time to purchase a raffle ticket.
Stay tuned for more on the exciting event.